equarterly - vol 4 spring 2007

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ESTUDIO MAY 2007

TITLE IMPRINT ISBN STOCK# US PRICE

THE FREE COUNCIL MAGE 978-1-58846-432-3 40308 $26.99WOD: URBAN LEGENDS WOD 978-1-58846-489-7 55303 $24.99MONSTER MAYHEM BOARDGAME 978-1-58846-540-5 21010 $44.99

JUNE 2007


WOD: BOOK OF SPIRITS WOD 978-1-58846-490-3 55202 $24.99THE BLOOD VAMPIRE 978-1-58846-268-8 25002 $24.99

BOOK OF SORCERY 3OADENOLS CODEX EXALTED 978 -1-58846-695-2 80302 $24.99EXALTED: WAR FOR THE THRONE! EXALTED 978-1-58846-542-9 80720 $69.99SCION: DEMIGOD SCION 978-1-58846-469-9 75001 $34.99

JULY 2007


MAGICAL TRADITIONS MAGE 978-1-58846-433-0 40309 $31.99BLOODLINES 3: THE CHOSEN VAMPIRE 978-1-58846-269-5 25104 $26.99COMPASS OF TERRESTRIAL DIRECTIONS 2THE WEST EXALTED 978-1-58846-696-5 80201 $24.99MINDS EYE THEATER: MAGE MAGE MET N/A 50003 $14.99

EVE: THE EXILED CCG EVE 978-1-58846-926-7 11024 $2.99AUGUST 2007


CHANGELING: THE LOST CHANGELING 978-1-58846-527-6 70000 $34.99CHANGELING ST SCREEN CHANGELING 978-1-58846-528-3 70700 $14.99CHANGELING DICE CHANGELING 978-1-58846-529-0 70701 $6.99MONTE COOKSWORLD OF DARKNESS WOD 978-1-58846-467-5 51000 $49.99SCION: GOD SCION 978-1-58846-470-5 75002 $34.99WORLD OF DARKNESS: ASYLUM WOD 978-1-58846-491-0 55204 $26.99CITY OF BRASS NECROMANCER978-1-58846-769-0 8359 $69.99

SEPTEMBER 2007


THE MYSTERIUM MAGE 978-1-58846-434-7 40102 $26.99VAMPIRE-ROME VAMPIRE 978-1-58846-270-1 25140 $31.99SIDEREALS EXALTED 978-1-58846-697-6 80102 $31.99LORDS OF THE NIGHT-BOOSTER PACK VTES 978-1-58846-342-5 2767 $2.99STARTER DECKSLORDS OF THE NIGHT - ASSAMITE VTES 978-1-58846-345-6 2770 $9.99LORDS OF THE NIGHT - SETITE VTES 978-1-58846-346-3 2771 $9.99LORDS OF THE NIGHT - GIOVANNI VTES 978-1-58846-347-0 2772 $9.99LORDS OF THE NIGHT - RAVNOS VTES 978-1-58846-348-7 2773 $9.99

JUNE JULY AUGUSTMAY AUGUST


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May you live in interesting times

Urban Legends: weve all heard them. Strange stories thathappened to a friend of a friend of our cousin, creepy tales andsilly rituals we dare each other to do when the world is dark

and we should be asleep. Theres even a TV show dedicatedto proving them wrong: scientifically examining the truth or

fiction behind the myths of our time. Luckily, in this world,these legends rarely have any legs to stand on. This is a world

of the computer, the electron and the calculator. This is a worldwithout the supernatural.

The World of Darkness isnt as lucky. Ancient myths arealready true in this world. Vampires stalk the night, preying

on man like leeches. Men change to wolves and back, stalkinghuman and spirit to maintain balance. Magic has been chan-neled into the world from the supernal realms, a genie that

cannot be put back in its bottle. The divine spark has beenstolen from Heaven, tormenting those soulless it animates to

quest for what they never had. If these, the greatest legends ofall mankind, are true, what does that say of the urban legends

we tell each other in the dark?

World of Darkness: Urban Legends is a book of such myths

and legends. The first four chapters are presented as outlined

stories for any game, but the last chapter is just rumor afterrumor, a collection of tales and folklore, with just enough facts

that they could happen any time, anywhere, to anyone. Afterall, sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction

This story is totally true!

The Hookaround to open her door and stopped dead.

He stopped abruptly. Jesus.

So she said what, what is it? and he didnt say anything, justkept staring in terror. She shoved the door open and turned around

to look and then she freaked, too. He says she even fainted.

Because there, hanging from the door was a hook!

HistoryMoses Ezekiel MacDonald was born a long time ago. Too

long by half, he figures every time he wakes up. Once upon atime, though, he was too young too young to join the Army

and spit in the Fhrers face. Moses was walking in the woodsone day when he met the Devil, or at least somebody about the

right height. Now, Moses wasnt afraid of anybody, German orDevil, so they got right to talking.

Okay, I got one. Gather round, ladies.

One night (dark and stormy, of course) my cousin wasdriving with her boyfriend. They lost the keys somewhere around

Oak Street. Back seat, listening to the smooth jazz station, thewhole deal. All of a sudden, just as you-know-who was rounding

third, the radio switches over to the news.This is an emergency alert, it says, A man has escaped

from the Hill Hospital for the Mentally Unwell. He is consid-

ered armed and extremely dangerous. This lunatic is missinghis left hand, and may be using a hook in its place.

Well, my cousins stupid brave, so she wanted to keepgoing, but her boy had kind of lost his charge. So they got

back in the front seat and started driving home. By the timethey were home, theyd managed to work each other into a

real terror. Didnt help that theyd hit a raccoon or somethingher dads house. Her boyfriend got out of the car, then came


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Devil, said Moses, How am I going to get in the Army?

Lie, said the Devil. Its what Id do.

Devil, I cant even grow a beard. Give you my soul ifyoull help me out.

Ive got a lot of souls, said the Devil, but Im sure I canthink of something else. Tell you what, you go town and you

sign up for the Army, and Ill make sure you get in and Ill makesure you see action.

So Moses shook the Devils hand, and he went down totown. Sure enough, they took him, and a year later, he was

starving in a foxhole in the French countryside. One day,during an advance, he stepped on a landmine. As he lay there

bleeding, he saw the Devil again.

You here for my soul, Devil? he asked.I told you, son, I dont need souls. Im starving out here,

though. All the meat is mangled and charred. I dont suppose

you need that hand?

Moses started to argue, but he realized that the rest of

him was all torn up and that his left hand was the only partof him he was sure was intact. A deal is a deal, so he let the

Devil gnaw it off.

Youre a plain dealer, said the Devil, And I really dont

need one of those in Hell. Kill one more man for me when youget home, and Ill make sure you live a good long time.

Sure enough, some Frenchmen found Moses within the

hour and got him to safety. After he recovered, Moses shippedback to the United States, and he killed his brother-in-lawnot a day after he got off the boat.

At least, thats how Moses remembers it all. Thats whyhes been locked up in a mental hospital for the last 60 years.

MotivationsHospital staff or law enforcement agents try to recapture

Moses and make good protagonists. Moses may also still haveliving relatives who are afraid that hell attack them. Teenagers orothers may encounter the escaped lunatic on a lonely road.

The StoryThe story begins as Moses escapes once again from the

mental hospital in which he has been held, killing an orderlyin the process. Moses memories are damaged; hes had at

least two

life-changing encounters with a powerful supernatural

force, and has greatly simplified them. Each time, it took a

passing interest in his problems and helped him in a small way.The creature might be a mage, a spirit, a vampire with bloodsorcery or a stranger being perhaps one already playing a

role in your chronicle. For all of Moses intents and purposes,however, it might as well be the Devil.

The basics of Moses memories, despite some core mis-conceptions, are correct: he sacrificed his hand to a being,

and that being extended his life and improved his health.This supernatural protection keeps Moses fit despite years ofconfinement, and allows him to recuperate from injury with

unusual speed. While his wounds dont actually heal any fasterthan those of an ordinary human being, Moses can shrug off

pain and keep moving when hurt in ways that would cripple

another mortal. Use the statistics for the Monster Hunter(World of Darkness Rulebook, p. 207) for Moses, and allowhim to ignore wound penalties.

Moses has replaced his left hand with an old-fashioned


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hook-style prosthesis. (Through some supernatural influence,

the hospital staff has not been able to remove the hook. Thestaff members instead force Moses to bundle it up in an old

cloth which he removes when he escapes.)Although he was originally left-handed, Moses is proficient

with using his right hand to perform complex tasks. He hassecretly sharpened the hook to a razor-like edge, with which

he maims or kills anyone who interferes with his freedom. Thehook deals lethal damage.

Dr. Paula Connelly has administered the Hill Hospital forthe Mentally Unwell since the 60s, and shes a firm believer

in tradition. While the hospital has welcomed a few youngerdoctors and some newer treatment strategies, Paula keeps it a

virtual prison, believing that the patients need protection fromeach other just as much as her staff and the community needprotection from them. She is well aware of Moses capacity for

violence; hes escaped three times before and been recaptured.The hospital has not kept official records of these escapes, but

rumors of a hook-handed maniac in the woods near the hospitalhave never gone away. To avoid any interference in

running the hospital, Paula does her best toconceal these escapes. However, she ulti-mately cooperates if she has a genuine

need for the characters.

Moses, meanwhile,is roaming the thickwoods, surviving on

wild game. His only

desire is to keep hisfreedom, but helacks most real-

world social skills,and cant drivean automobile.

With the hospitaltucked far away in

the woods, his best hopefor evading searchers is

to get someone else tohelp him, most likelyby force. At night, he

stays within sight of theroad, waiting for a car

to slow down, or, betteryet, park.

Variations Shifter, Shifter:

The lunatic can be iden-tified by the hook that

replaces his hand and only by that hook. His appearance is

fluid, allowing him to take the form of anyone he wishes, buthe cant regrow his missing hand or remove his prosthesis.

Handling the Truth: The real story isnt the hook, buthow the patient lost his hand, and who imprisoned him to

keep it a secret. Moses lost his hand to cancer after handlinga strange, metal object he found by the side of the road. Soon,

men in dark suits came and took him to the hospital, and nowno one will believe him at all.


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The Blurred Lines of Truth and Lies

Magical Traditions.

The world is blanketed in a reality that lies to everyonewithin. This reality keeps people shrouded in darknesseternal and prevents them from knowing the truth thatcan light the way to Ascension. However, there are someindividuals who manage to see a faint glimmer of lightwithin the darkness, yet remainSleeping. These individualspractice old traditions thatare passed down from years,

decades, even millennia ofstudy and work. Despite theirslumber, they still believe thatthey practice true magic, andeven the Awakened find secrettruths within these practices;harnessing them for their ownpaths to the ultimate goal thateach Mage tries to gain.

The Atlantean orders teach that any fragment of Su-pernal truth that a Sleeper occult tradition might hold is alegacy from pre-diluvial times. It is a kernel of Atlanteanwisdom carried down through time. And this is often true but not the whole truth. Not all Supernal truths are

from days of yore new truthscan enter the world at any time,and become the basis of a newoccult tradition.

One way to phrase thedistinction: Atlantean wis-dom holds the most completeunderstandingof the Supernal,but the actualphenomena (andexperience) of the Supernalcan be contemporary or fromany historical era. Mages whorecognize this distinction seekAtlantean wisdom as a meansof making sense of Supernalfragments, but its not theonly key to discovering them.Further, Atlantean praxismight not hold all the answers.It can shine a light on manytruths, but some might best beilluminated by the light of amagical tradition indeed, aSleeper magical tradition might

actually hold more wisdom about a particular Supernalphenomenon that all the libraries of Atlantis. This iswhy certain iconoclastic mages value magical traditions

and why the more orthodox abhor them.Supernal phenomena entities, objects, thoughts,

words, deeds, etc. that occurs in the Supernal Worldcan, for mysterious reasons, create an echo that trav-els to the Fallen World. But heres the key: they almostnever appear in the Fallen World as what they really are.Theyre masked. They become metaphors for themselves.Their forms, contents and even meanings appear different,distorted but they remain charged with some sense oftheir original Supernal essence.

As Above,

So BelowAll mages know there is

a nigh-impermeable barrierbetween the Fallen and Super-nal Worlds and that, short of arare Awakening (and spells, ofcourse), things just dont crossthat barrier. This metaphysical condition illustrates thetragic circumstances of modern man and the predicamentof mages but its not exactly true. There are always ex-ceptions. While no one can bodily cross the Abyss into the

Supernal World (and vice versa Exarchs and Oraclescannot bodily come down to the Fallen World), and noone can project ones mind or soul there the FallenWorld is conceived by mages as a cage, after all it ispossible for Supernalphenomena to drift down into theFallen World. Possible here means that it occurs moreoften than even mages usually suspect. In other words,even though the shattering of the Celestial Ladder oc-curred long ago, not all fragments of the Supernal comefrom ancient times.


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For example: An angelic choir in the Aether sings.The sound echoes down through the Abyss and intothe Fallen World. (Why? No one, except perhaps a rare

archmaster, knows why this one sound makes it throughand countless other dont.) But it no longer appears as asound. It might instead appear as the seemingly randomand momentary manner in which a ray of light breaksthrough a cloud, illuminating the morning dew in such away that a mortal viewer hears music in his soul. Thenits gone. Anyone who didnt see it at that moment willnever be graced with it. However, an artist who witnessedit might try to convey it by painting a picture or compos-ing a poem. How well this secondary chronicle of theSupernal-inspired moment works to convey the mysticalexperience depends on the skill of the artist and somereadiness within his audience; but its a pale imitationat best. Such Supernal moments arent always uplifting they can be sublime, in the sense of overwhelmingawe, or in the Lovecraftian sense, especially if a bit ofthe Abyss comes with them.

Some Supernal phenomena, however, can come in theform ofsymbols or ideas. Symbols are inexhaustible and cantbe reduced to a single particular meaning within a givencultural matrix they always mean something greater.

But what? Its this slipperiness, this evasiveness andinexhaustibility, that is a hallmark of the Supernal: the

signifier points to a signified that exists in a higher world,a larger frame of reference than an un-Awakened mortalmind can conceive.

This is why occult magical traditions are important they provide useful clues for mages that allow them tograsp these stray Supernal ideas. Its not that the occultnecessarily has more Supernal fragments than other areaof human life, but it does have more transparency, allow-ing those with a trained eye to look past the masks andveils that cloak the true Supernal phenomena. Further,mortal occultists do seem more attuned to recognizingthese things, and so they tend to enshrine them in such

a way that they arent lost over time.

Climbing the Tree

(Mind + Any Arcanum )

A great part of the teaching of Kabbalah involves themages efforts to understand and achieve union with theTree of Life. Kabbalists see this as a form of metaphysicalclimbing of the Tree to reach the higher sephiroth andgreater understanding. Traditionally this is accomplished

by intense meditation and prayer; this spell allows theKabbalist to make the journey more literal.

Practice: Weaving

Action: Extended

Duration: Prolonged (one scene)

Aspect: Covert

Cost: None

This spell must be cast in conjunction with an astraljourney (see Mage: the Awakening p. 283). Upon cast-ing this spell, the mage shapes the Astral Plane aroundhim into a representation of one of the sephiroth he hasgained an understanding of (that associated with the

conjunctional Arcanum of the spell). He can interactwith the angels and spirits of that sephira and gain wisdomand understanding of its principles. The exact effects ofthis wisdom varies; in general, if the mage overcomes thechallenges and seals that guard the sephiras mysteries, heshould earn 1-3 Arcane experience points depending onthe difficulty of the challenge. According to Kabbalistdoctrine, the key to Ascension is to use this spell to journeycompletely up the Tree of Life, from Malkhut all the wayto Keter, navigating each sephira in turn. This obviouslyrequires considerable mystical power, and there are fewif any reliable cases of a mage achieving this goal.

Tradition Rote: The Serpents Path

Dice Pool: Resolve + Occult + Mind

Just as energy travels down the Tree of Life in theLightning Flash, so too does it ascend once more in theSerpents Path. The mage who climbs that treacherousroad and passes all the wrathful guardian angels set over itwill achieve unity with God, or so they say. This rote is oneof the more subdued Kabbalistic rituals: the mage dons apurple robe (even if Yesod is not his ultimate destination,it is the traditional beginning of the road). Surroundedby foci that represent his goal, the mage meditates untilhe slips into the Astral Plane, then continues meditatingon the names of God and the archangels of the sephiroth.When the spell is complete, the mage enters the realmof the sephira, and can interact with its inhabitants. Ifhe overcomes their challenges and riddles, he may gainenlightenment. If he fails, the result could be messy tosay the least.


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By Ken Cliffe

So, Rich Thomas of White Wolfs IPDDdepartment comes to me with a request fora new game.

We want to make a board game for

Exalted. It should have lots of little piecesand be resource-management specific,and focus on warfare.

Okay, I say. Theres lots of verycool material in Exalted from which todraw. Theres a board game in theresomewhere.

Oh, and it better be #*&$ing cool, he adds.

Well, crap! Now the pressure is really on.

No big deal. I can do it. Ive worked on moreWW titles than I can count, and have recently

come off co-designing Vampire: Dark In-fluences, which is a neat little game.

The question is what should an Ex-alted board game be about? Theres theSolar rebellion against the TerrestrialExalted. Theres the feuding, chaotic lifeout in the Threshold. Theres the clash ofa number of bizarre and unearthly powerssuch as the Wyld, the Abyssals and the Yozis.Hell, theres any number of great concepts from

which to start.

But whats iconic to the setting? Whatsat the games core, the source of its drama,and in this case the potential cause forsweeping warfare with lots of little piecesand resource management?

A brainstorming meeting withExalted Developer John Chambers hitthe nail on the head: The long foretoldcollapse of the Realm into bloody civil war,

with champions emerging who each stake a

claim to the Scarlet Throne. Whoa! That isultimately the crux of the game! The Scarlet

Empress disappeared seven years ago. Herunderlings among the Dragon-Blooded

have propped up the empire in herabsence, maintaining order as best theycan, but with ever-faltering results.Now coincide that time of weakness

with the gradual re-emergence of theSolar Exalted and you have the pinions

of Exalted.

The Storytelling game has long alluded tothe Realms complete collapse. Problem is, its

a cat in a bag. Once you pull it out, theresno getting it back in. So what better venue

in which to explore the possibilities ofthat plot point than in a board game?Players get to participate firsthand inthe battle to claim the throne, and ina way that a normal game of Exaltedmight not allow. In this case, players as-

sume the roles of prominent TerrestrialExalted who amass forces, build navies,

horde wealth and gather sorcery to make abid for control of the Empire. Plus, ongoing

Exalted supplements get to continue coverage ofthe world as readers know it, without turning

everything on its ear.Okay, so where is such a civil war

set? Creation is vast, much biggerthan our own world. Does that meanthe struggle takes place somewhere inthe Threshold, where the Empires

influence has eroded? Does it occur insome far-off land or another dimension,

where home is left safe for he or she whoemerges triumphant? Screw all that!


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and set it loose among a rivals forces? Or

go into battle with a First Age war machine

in his arsenal?

And so, that leaves deciding howsomeone actually wins and sits on theScarlet Throne. Well, there are three

ways: Form an army and conquer theBlessed Isle. Form a navy and claim

the seas surrounding the Isle, chokingthe life out of your foes. Or gathering

enough magic and therefore wisdom to crackthe Imperial Manse and take all of the Isles

magic for your own, just as the Scarlet Empress didcenturies ago!

Easy, right? Okay, go make all that intoa board game.

No matter how challenging it wasto create Exalted: War of the Throne,you get to enjoy playing the end result.The game demands strategy, resourcemanagement, legion building, armadabuilding, sorcery, impeccable timing

and heartless viciousness. If you can pulloff most of those, maybe youre next in

line to be Emperor or Empress!

The war needs to be fought on the BlessedIsleitself; devastating the heart of the Realmand creating complete chaos.

Well then, the rest is easy. If the waris fought among the Terrestrial Exalted,players can portray champions of eachaspect: Air, Earth, Fire, Water and

Wood. That makes for a two-to-fiveplayer game. And each aspect is alreadyaffiliated with a color, perfect for playeridentification. The result is color-codedarmies and navies composed of legion andship pieces.

Add to that other important trappings of

the Storytelling game, such as building orclaiming manses as sources of power. Or

gathering jade coin to fund your bid

for power. Or magic through either

a Sorcery trait or through Charm

Cards drawn and played all game long.

And Event Cards for all the fantastic,

over-the-top feats that you know would

occur in unbridled warfare between the

Dragon-Blooded. I mean, who doesnt

want to awaken a Rampaging Behemoth


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THE MANY FACESOFTHE

FICKLE LADYS CHILDRENExcepts from Manual of Exalted Power: The Lunars

SHAPESHIFTING

As Luna shows many faces to Creation, so too do herChosen, changing their shapes with skill and cleverness.

Changing from any form to any other takes a single miscel-laneous action. Other than the time required, changing shaperequires no concentration and only a little Essence. No diceroll is needed. Essence spent on changing form is not com-mitted, and changing does not count as Charm use. As withother miscellaneous actions, the shapechange is effectivelyinstantaneousits Speed determines only when the characternext gets to act.

During the change, observers see the characters featuresshift. Hair grows or scales form on his skin, the face acquiresa beak or loses the porcine snout, and hands become hoovesor talons turn to feet as he changes to or from an animal

form. When in a given form, the Lunar is really that creature.His skin is its skin, his voice the animals voice, his blood itsblood. It does not register as a magical disguise to Essencesight. Only the characters mind and the core of his Essenceremain his own.

Anything the character carries or wears disappears withthe transformation. These tools usually fade into Elsewhere asthe Lunar takes on a new form. When the new shape can usethe equipment, it carries over instead. A characters clothingand knife go away when she changes from her human true

Every type of Exalted is unique. The Solars are bringers ofjustice and glory. The Dragon Blooded emphasize elementalpower and teamwork. Sidereals manipulate fate and pull thestings of the world from behind the veil of the Mask. Abys-sals command the dead and master the forces of entropy and

decay. Lunars adapt. We explore the up coming Manual ofExalted Power: The Lunars by highlighting the quintessentialexpression of the Lunars knack for adaptation. By changingtheir shape, a lunar can adapt to changing environments,infiltrate any culture, hide from any pursuer, or anything elsetheir imagination can utilize a stolen form for.


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WAR FORM

Some of the Lunar Exalted also have a third true form,called the war form or the Deadly Beastman Transforma-tion. In this form, the Lunar becomes a hybrid of manand beast, usually monstrous and several feet taller thanthe largest human and with great strength and resilience.

Most Lunars prefer to enter combat using the war form,knowing that it affords them a tremendous advantage.

Changing into the Deadly Beastman Transformationsends most mortal armors away into Elsewhere, and manyweapons become too small to effectively use. Most arti-fact tools and weapons remain useable in this form, butonly moonsilver armor is flexible enough to change withthe Lunar into the war form. Moonsilver armor actuallyadopts a different shape ideal to the bestial man-beastform. Some characters have smaller war forms, closer toa human size, in which they can use normal armors.

A Lunar can spend as much time as he wants in hiswar form, but wearing it makes an open statement to otherLunars (and other entities who can recognize it) that theSteward is ready for battle to break out at any momentper-haps even eager for it. Few Lunar Exalted would visit theterritory of a Lunar or god in the war form, knowing thatthey are likely to be met with force rather than warm greet-ings. On the other hand, the war form can be a calculatedinsult, suggesting that the offended entity cannot keep itsterritories safe to visitors or lacks the power to force theLunar into a more socially acceptable shape.

form to her Spirit Shape, but remain when she changesinto another person. Clothing and other fitted materialsshift somewhat to make sure they fit.

No known physical or magical force can prevent one ofLunas Children from shifting shape. If a Steward chooses towear a different form and it lies within her power, she cantake the action to change, even when magic constrains herfrom taking any action at all. Only some force that preventsher from choosing to change shape, such as unnatural (orperhaps natural) mental influence or being unconscious.Some Charms may eliminate even that danger.

Although shapeshifting is not a Charm-based power,shapeshifting qualifies for the Obvious keyword. Whenobservers see a Lunar transform, they know the characterdid something magicalno Essence display needed. Ondeath, the Lunar always returns to the last worn of his trueforms. Any Lunars first true form is the shape he worewhen he Exalted. The second is his spirit shape.


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SPIRIT SHAPE

At the moment of Exaltation, a Lunar gains her first ani-mal shape. This is the character s spirit shape, reflecting thecharacters nature and temperament. Exalted whoare sly might discover the snake or raccoon, the

mighty could find bulls or bears, thewise sometimes see raitons or the lone

wolf. Of the last, for example, a characterwho speaks with wise deliberation found over

many travels might take the wolf as spiritshape; the one who prefers to spend moretime with the dead and speak in cryptic

squawks chooses raiton.

From that moment on, theLunar Exalt can take on theshape of her spirit animal. Thisis one of the Lunars true forms,the first she receives after her

natural human shape, and Lunasfirst gift to the Lunar. Changingto this true form or to the Lunars

true human form costs only onemote, no matter what shape

the Lunar wears at themoment. As a true form,

the Strength, Stamina and Ap-pearance of the spirit shape are considered natural.

In her spirit shape, a Lunar displays her permanent

moonsilver tattoos, which arrange themselves artfullyalong the natural contours of her animal body. Likewise,scars, losses of limb and other permanent damage sufferedby one true form become visible in the other. Such mark-ings benefit from the same magic as the Tell, becomingdifficult to notice. It is the same for the war form.

Players may only choose creatures that are valid targetsfor the sacred hunt as a character s spirit shape. In orderto create a character with a mouse or yeddim totem, thecharacter must take the appropriate Knacks.

Exalted know it, unlike the rite for animals. Some Stewardsconsider it distasteful to take human forms. Most considerit too useful to quibble over the morality of it, however.

With Preys Skin Disguise, the Lunar learns to take onthe shape of other humans (and humanoid creatures) andknows the ritual for claiming one. Just as for animals, thecharacter takes on all the qualities of the human whoseshape he takesappearance, scent, voice. Other ShiftingKnacks allow Lunars to master other forms.

Despite the frequency of war forms that are terrifyinglyhuge and intended to tear through enemies in battle, somewar forms are simply person-sized or even of slighter builds.

Not all warriors, af ter all, focus on sheer might.

OTHER SHAPES: THE SACRED HUNT

Were Lunars limited to a spirit shape and a war form,they would never have received the renown for theirversatility and mastery of disguise they touted in the FirstAge. Lunar Exalted can wear the shape of anything andanyone living. But a Lunar must first earn the right.

To earn a new shape, the Lunar must hunt and dedicatethe pursuit and kill to Luna. The Exalt must find a superlativeexample of the animal he wishes to hunt, chase the animal tothe ground and slay it at the climax of the hunt. The Silver

Pact calls this the sacred hunt, or the blood hunt.Once the desired animal lies at his feet,

bleeding its last, the Lunar tastesits hearts blood and gainsmastery of the creatures form.The Steward becomes a perfectfacsimile, including any scars ordistinguishing marks. A Lunar isnot limited to just one exampleof an animal. He may have two ormore, with different colorations toconfuse pursuers or for different pur-poses. Each additional form requiresanother day and another hunt. Justbecause the Lunar must find an idealanimal to hunt does not mean that hemust always hunt the largest, stron-gest and fastest. If he wishes to finda small, skulking bear instead of amassive, mountain-shaking grizzly,he must simply find the most perfect example ofan atypical animal. It is effectively the same process.

Not all creatures are valid victims of the sacred hunt.

Beasts that have been tainted by the Wyld are too un-natural for the Stewards to master their shapes withoutthe Lunas Hidden Face Knack. Also, some creaturesare too small or large to hunt with the basic ritual: Anybeast smaller than a housecat or larger than a moose isconsidered an invalid target without Humble MouseShape or Towering Beast Form, respectively. Attemptsto hunt invalid targets with the blood hunt result in arejection from Luna.

There is a sacred hunt for human victims. Not all Lunar


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Dripping with DetailExcerpts from The Blood, the players guide for Vampire: The Requiem

Ive played Vampirefor over eight years nowand I am beginning find

myself in a rut for design-ing new vampire characterconcepts. This happens tomany experienced role-players who, having playedso many games, often findit difficult to come up witha unique character concepteach time they play.

On the reverse, I haveoften seen new playerswho, overwhelmed with

the rules and setting,are unable to develop aninventive character per-sonality while absorbingeverything that it means tobe one of the Kindred.

The Blood is a newbook for Vampire: TheRequiem that contains awealth of suggestions andnew additions for Vampire

fans both new and old. The Blood expands on everyaspect of character creation from the meanings behindthe dots on the character sheet to an in-depth inves-tigation of the Psychology of a Kindred as she movesthrough her Requiem.

Included below are two excerpts for The Blood thatwill surely catch your interest the way they did mine whenI first saw this informative new supplement for Vampire:The Requiem.

RecipesThis process of putting

dots on the page and exam-

ining their greater meaningworks like a kind of alchemi-cal magic, transmuting lead(the dull action of scribblingin dots) into gold (a fully-imagined character witha compelling story). Or,perhaps its like changingnormal mundane blood intothe puissant claret foundclinging to a vampireswithered arteries?

Whatever the case,you can make use of whatwere going to term reci-pes when concoctingcharacters. Essentially,a recipe helps you marryconcept to stats. Eachrecipe assumes a smallbut specific spread of dotsintrinsic to that charactermodel. The dots arent ex-

haustive, and dont paint the entire picture, but insteadprovide a jumping-off point. The recipes presented belowhave only three stats that comprise them: one stat atfour dots, one at three, one at two. In this simple andsmall formula, the hints of a character concept arise.Moreover, they can be easily tweaked and serve more asguidelines than as anything concrete. The recipes areversatile, more seeds to spur thought than hard and fastdelineations. Do other stats than these apply?


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Certainly; they need to, because these recipes cannot totalthe number of dots necessary to create a starting character.

Consider the following several recipes, then makeup your own:

Elysium Raconteur: Wits 4, Socialize 3, Brawl 2

False Oracle: Subterfuge 4, Empathy 3, Expression 2

Gang Lieutenant: Presence 4, Streetwise 3, Firearms 2 Haunter of Sewers:Stealth 4, Investigation 3, Animal

Ken 2

Mad Scholar: Occult 4, Wits 3, Stealth 2

Paranoid Hacker: Computer 4, Politics 3, Larceny 2

Political Firebrand: Expression 4, Brawl 3, Politics 2

Princes Fist: Brawl 4, Streetwise 3, Investigation 2 Public Face of Covenant:Socialize 4, Composure

3, Politics 2

Regarded Courier: Athletics 4,

Resolve 3, Empathy 2

Religious Zealot: Manipulation 4,

Persuasion 3, Academics 2

Tempting Harpy:Presence 4, Persuasion

3, Socialize 2

Wheel Man: Drive 4, Wits 3, Firearms 2

DerangementsIt almost seems normal for Kindred to go mad. The

crushing dissonance of coexistence with the urges withthe Beast is difficult enough on a night-to-night basis,and when it explodes into trauma its hardly surprisingthat many vampires go mad. Add in the many ordeals ofthe Requiem and the potential for serious mental dam-age arising from prolonged torpor, and its not surprisingthat insanity is almost as prevalent in vampires as anyother mental or physical feature. Presented here are fivenew derangements for play in Vampire: The Requiem,adding to the list of possible choices for Kindred whodo go mad.

(Sorry, I could only fit three of the five. Youll haveto check outThe Bloodfor the final two)

Diogenes Syndrome (severe; follows InferiorityComplex)

In Kindred, this derangement often follows a trau-matic loss of Humanity. The vampire begins to seehimself as something less than human, and either makesa conscious decision to stop grooming himself normally,or simply forgets to bother, satisfying the subconsciousurge to chastise the self. She stops changing her clothes,makes no attempt to bathe or comb her hair, and doesntbother cleaning spilled blood from her face after feeding.She makes no attempt to clean up her Haven, and willreadily sleep in filth. She ignores vermin that infest herclothes or hair, and, even though she may be shamed bythe disgust of onlookers, she rarely acknowledges the realreason for their reaction.


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all of the work theyve done to establish themselves inKindred society. A Player may wish to add Withdrawal tohis characters history, as a cured derangement (or one that

awaits him if he drops again to a formerly low Humanityrating) to explain a long absence from Kindred society,but should be aware of its implications if she does so.

Effect: The character must succeed on a Resolve +Composure roll to leave his Haven each night. He suffers a3 penalty on all Social Ability rolls (except for resistanceon contested ones) because of his extreme unwillingnessto speak to others, and his obvious attempts to get awayfrom public dealings as quickly as possible.

Erythema (mild)

This derangement

emerges because ofa vampires subcon-scious wish to deny thetruth of her undeadstate. Without willingit, she spends Vitaeto bring warmth andcolor to her skin when-ever in the companyof others, drainingherself in an effort tomaintain the faade

of life. Even consciousattempts to preventthe expenditure fail;there is a part of the

vampire that is simply broken, forcing her to present theillusion whether she likes it or not.

Vampires suffering from Erythema are often subjectedto the derision of their contemporaries, either becausethey seem to be desperate to pretend that they are stillalive or because they are unable to control their ownexpenditures of Vitae. They also suffer an increased need

to feed, since they spend so much blood fueling theirpitiful masquerade.

Effect: The vampire automatically spends a pointof Vitae to counterfeit life (see p. XX) whenever sheis in the company of others. Attempts to prevent thisexpenditure requires a successful Resolve + Composureroll. This roll carries a 2 penalty if the encounter withothers is unexpected, and an additional 1 if there aremore than three people present at the encounter (besidesthe vampire).

Worse, vampires suffering from this derangementoften fail to heal wounds in their waking hours, bearingthem as if unawares and waiting for them to heal in the

days sleep.Effect:The character suffers a 3 penalty on all Social

Ability rolls (except Intimidation and Disciplines) becauseof her filthy, disheveled state. A Willpower point must beexpended if the character attempts to clean herself in anyway or pay attention to her injuries. Even crippling painwill fail to compel her to heal herself unless she makesthis expenditure. She will, however, expend Vitae to healher wounds while she sleeps.

Withdrawal (se-vere; extreme; follows

Irrationality)Some Kindred,

overwhelmed by thedemands of vampiresociety and unableto keep up with thecomplexities of Status,intrigue, and predato-ry warfare sometimessuffer an overwhelm-ing urge to withdrawcompletely from the

world around them.Severe trauma canlead to the dissolutionof rational bounds onthis urge, resulting in an absolute abandonment of socialinteraction and obligation; regardless of the detrimentaleffect on the vampires own existence.

Vampires suffering from Withdrawal avoid leavingtheir Havens and interacting with others as much aspossible. They do not attend any Elysium events, andthey allow all friendships and alliances to wither, never

bothering to initiate communication. The Requiem ofa vampire in Withdrawal is one of solitary nights spentin silent retreat. Some turn to scholarly pursuits, losingthemselves in dusty tomes and occult research, but mostjust take on idle hobbies, accomplishing little of valueand waiting until hunger demands that they strike outin search of blood.

Withdrawal is not a derangement for characters inplay. It should be restricted to Storyteller characters only,because it isolates the vampire and threatens to destroy


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Monte Cooks World of Darkness An article by Monte CookMonte Cook? Whats that D&D guy doing with the World of Darkness? What does he know about

this? Isnt he going to ruin everything?

Yeah, it seemed strange to me at first, too. Although Ive worked with the cool folks at White Wolf for

years as publishing partners for my own Malhavoc Press, I was still a little flabbergasted when Rich Thomasand Stewart Wieck approached me with the offer to take the World of Darkness

and do what I wanted with it. Now, I had already decided that my time in thegame industry was winding down, but who turns down an offer like that?

When someone says, How would you like to play in one of the coolest

sandboxes in gaming, and do whatever you want, you say, yes. Itsfar too cool to say no.

So I did say yes. I mean, Id got Vampire when it first came out and itblew me away. I followed the World of Darkness as it expanded, grew, and

changed over time. Ive always been a fan of vampires, werewolves, mages,and the creatures of the shadows. I may be best known for fantasy gaming,

but my love for modern day horror still managed to make itself knownwith products like Dark Matter and Call of Cthulhu d20, and my

novel, Of Aged Angels.

Long story short: I love this stuff. I was thrilled with the opportnity.

I immediately began brainstorming ideas. At first, I thought abouttaking World of Darkness into the future, with faster than light ships and

other planets. Kind of like Aliens, but with vampires and werewolves. Iliked thinking about what vampires would be like in a place where there

was no day, or what would happen to a werewolf separated from the worldto which it was so closely tied. Then I thought about the distant past or

taking the World of Darkness concepts and applying them to a quasi-Medieval fantasy world that wasnt Earth at all.

Eventually, however, I settled upon a genre that I adore but have neverhad the opportunity to work with much: post-apocalypse. Vampires and were-

wolves in the ruins of society. I loved it. But better yet, what if whatever caused

the apocalypse is the very thing that brought vampires, demons, and soforth into the world? I loved that it would be a counterpoint to

the long and detailed history of vampires, werewolves, anddemons in the original World of Darkness. Here, they

would be brand-new additions to the world, still gettingused to their place in things. And with this apocalypse

came more than just these monsters in our midst. Itchanged the way the world worked, turning nightmaresinto reality in the dark corners of our planet.

But, I reasoned, some people arent going to want toconfine their gaming to a ruined world, so I made it onlya partial apocalypse. Now while that term seems a bitoxymoronic it applies to this setting quite nicely. Its usu-

ally easier to juxtapose horror against a more realistic and


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understandable world, so I knew that atleast part of the world should seem normal.

Though with heavy emphasis on seem.

To make this book happen, I was fortunateenough to get the assistance of two really great designers, Luke

Johnson and Sean Reynolds. This book would not be nearly ascool as it is without their expertise, ideas, and hard work.

The Intrusion

In this game, its the setting, the characters, and the storythat are important, not the rules. And the thing that shapes allof those things is called the Intrusion. One year ago, eldritch

horrors of cosmic malevolence called the Iconnu, or sometimesthe Unbidden, attempted to consume our reality, reshaping

it for some unknowable purpose. This attemptthis Intru-sionshould have spelled the end of the world.

But it didnt. Humankind was stronger than the Iconnuunderstoodnot in force of arms or physical strength or even

wisdom, but in spirit. Key individuals called the Awakenedaround the globe unconsciously hold it all together. In other

words, they keptand keepthe Iconnu from bringing aboutthe apocalypse.

Still, the Intrusion decimated the central United States ina terrible conflagration, casting even some surviving cities, like

Minneapolis, Minnesota, into ruin. Further, the Intrusion sent aripple through existence that altered the rest of the world. Thisripple, called the Nightmare Wave, left its mark in many ways.

In some locales, particularly those close to the Intrusion Site,it wrought terrible physical destruction. In others the changes

it brought were subtler and more insidious. Imagine: Peoplein one small town suddenly gain the taste the need for

human flesh. A broken, unplugged jukebox in a condemneddiner plays songs that give clues to events that havent yethappened. Cockroaches in an old warehouse communicate and

think with a single mind, and combined themselves physicallyinto one monstrous creature.

Lastly, the Iconnu sent agents into the world to deal withthe problem (in the same way that one might take penicillin to

get rid of a bacterial infection). They sent resurrected spirits ofthe dead into the bodies of living humans that changed them

physically. These creatures were a fusion of two spiritsand

often those spirits are in conflictbut with bodies possessedof great power. But they had weaknesses as well. They couldnot abide the daylight, and they craved the blood of the living.These are vampires, of course, but vampires like you havent

seen (or played) before. Each vampire is two spirits in one body,trying to direct its actions.

And there are werewolves. Like vampires, they are theproduct of Iconnu meddlingthis time otherworldly creatures

of rage completely consuming a human host. The opposite ofvampires, they are creatures of multiple forms but one spirit

bent on destruction.

Demons are also children of the Intrusion, but they are

utterly without a human component. They thrive on decep-tion and corruption.

Mages are humans who have discovered how to shape andmold the energies loosed by the Intrusion for their own ends. Just

as it changed reality, so do they, albeit on a smaller scale.

Lastly, there are the Awakened, humanitys last best hope.Their role in the game is for those who dont want to play asupernatural character, although they gain many unique abili-

ties for coping and dealing with the strange foes and situationsthey must face, which stem from their very humanity.

Although most of these character types owe their existenceto the Iconnu and the Intrusion, each decides his own path.

Do they hasten the worlds end, do they fight to prevent it, ordo they ignore it altogether to serve their own ends? Its up

to each to decide.The Rules

I based the rules of this new game on OGL mechanics,but this is different than what youve seen before. The rules

offer certain streamlining features to make character creationa smooth process and lots of new features that properly capture

the mood of the game.

One of the biggest challenges was in making the rules fit

the world. In similar games, characters start out very weak andgrow powerful, but vampires, werewolves, mages, and demons

are powerful to begin with. And thats how it should be. Plus,werewolves dont spend their time chasing down a +1 weapon,

and modern mages dont need a wand of whatever to be versatileand powerful. In other words, these characters abilities comefrom what they are, not what they own.

And speaking of mages, they need a whole new system ofmagic that allows them to cast the spells that they can imagine

on the fly without any memorization and long lists of pre-madespells. These mages are more flexible than that, so the magic

system needs to be too.

Youll also find rules for all the things that you need to play

the game, from car chases to machine guns, bizarre NightmareSites to werewolf rites, and from spellcasting talismans to

vampire clans. Plus, theres a heavy emphasis on roleplayingadvice, Gamemaster advice, scenario ideas, and two different

locales to set your campaign.

This is a complete game unto itself, and a distinct setting.

You dont have to know anything about the original World ofDarkness or the rules from any other books to play. However,the setting could be used with the original World of Darkness

rules, or the rules could be used with the original World ofDarkness setting. Ultimately, this is a game for those looking

for a different take on a world shrouded in darkness, or thoselooking to try a different kind of roleplaying with rules that

are familiar to those they already know.


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I STILL THINK ITS COLDER IN ICELAND

Interview by Robert Fulkerson

Since the merger with CCP, White Wolf has had aninflux of new faces in the office. The newest of whichis Petur, the Icelander who currently resides in thecubicle behind intern alley. In light of the slow buildof Icelanders in the office I, Intern Rob, took it upon

myself to interview the first permanent resident fromIceland to Atlanta.

Hello Petur, Could you give your name and Job titlefor the Fans out therE?

My name is Petur O. Thorarinsson (aka BrokkurHelfari), and I am the lead designer of EVE: The SecondGenesis CCG.

How long have you worked for CCP/Whitewolf?

I was hired in late December 2004 and started officiallyin January 2005.

You are from Iceland, right? So, Whats Iceland like?Is it Cold? Is it all Ice?

Haha Yes. Its usually both cold and windy. One

might expect that it would have made me tougher, buttruth be told, the winter cold and humidity here in Atlantaalmost killed me.

What do you think of Atlanta? How do plan on surviv-ing the summer?

Im loving it here. Im buying an icemaker line thisweekend and I plan to use it, a lot.

What do you think of the Office? The People?

I did anticipate my new colleagues here in Atlanta tobe the experts they really are, since I had always been anadmirer of their work, but the quality of their character

and the level of hospitality theyve showed me are higherthan I couldve ever hoped for.

Whats it like moving to America?

It sure is different from Iceland, but I always like try-ing out new things.

What was your biggest culture shock moment sinceyouve lived in America?

I have had a lot of these moments, both good andbad. For instance: (Good) Everybody Ive met here in

Atlanta have been incredibly kind and helpful, more so

than anywhere else Ive been to; (Bad) I have yet to findcoffee that hasnt been artificially flavored; (Good) Thegas and the beer are practically free; (Bad) Nothing is ever

within walking distance.

Ive been wondering, is Icelandic a language? Or doIcelanders speak another language?

Yes, Icelandic is my mother language.

J, slenska er mitt murml.

I always heard Europeans spoke a lot of Languages,how many do you speak?

Apart from Icelandic and English I speak, understandor get by in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, German and atiny bit in French (please dont try me though).

What is your favorite White Wolf product?

WoD

What Video Games have you played recently?

I havent had the time to play computers games for along while now and I havent tried out new games at all

for the past six months or so, before that I had been revisit-ing some old games.

Hows the EVE CCG going?

We are continuously getting new players into the gameand the comunity is growing slowly but surely. We justlaunched a new flash tutorial on our website and the newexpansion is currently in play testing. Im personally veryoptimistic that the new expansion will be very successful.

PTUR RN RARINSSON

DEVELOPER SPOTLIGHT


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Whats you favorite EVE Card and what does it do?

Veterans Premature Retirement. One of the simplest

cards in the game. It returns a ship to its owners hand for 4

ISK. Ive also always loved the artwork and the flavor text.

Any cool hints or pointers for EVE CCG Players?

The best hint I can give to new players is to visit our websiteand be apart of the community behind the game. They shouldalso check out our brand new tutorial on the website;)

Ive noticed that you and Zack, the other EVE CCGguy around here, have been playing some EVE CCG games,

whos been winning those?

There is no good answer to that. Zack is a strong man.

Whats your favorite Card Game Race and why?

Thankfully I dont have any preferences when it comes

to the races. They are all equally interesting to me.

Ive seen some of the pictures used for the card art,are those mostly computer generated pictures or did youguys really just take those pictures ingame?

If the card art reads Screenshot from EVE Online,it is a 100% un-doctored screenshot from the game. If wefiddle with it afterwards, it will have an artist name.

Do you play EVE Online? And how long have youbeen playing?

Yes. I cant tell you my character name though ;)

Ive been playing on and off since a few weeks before launch.

What race and Ship do you fly?

My main character is Caldari. I mostly just run couriermissions these days, so Im flying an Iteron Mark V.

Any Strange Talents?

If I start singing everybody starts crying (and running awayin terror).

So where are you staying right now? Have you movedinto a house, apartment, condo, ect., yet?

I just closed on a house yesterday, so the fine people atWhite Wolf will be stuck with me for at least three years (Irecommend sending them flowers).

So your in a band? Whats the name and what kind ofmusic do you play?

I sing with RXR, the CCP Dev band once every year.We practice for a couple of weeks before every FanFest inIceland. I guess Ill just have to fly to Iceland in advanceto rehearseJ


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AbstractSpeed is the system used in The World of Darkness todetermine how far a character can move during a given roundof combat or other time of intense stress. While working on aproject involving Pandorans with the transmutation Scurry,

I became interested in discovering just how fast Speed wouldallow a character to move. The goal of this experiment is to

determine the validity of the human speed constant in theWorld of Darkness.

TheorySpeed determines the distance a character can move dur-

ing a three second combat round. A characters Speed is thesum of her Strength + Dexterity + a constant, which variesbased on age, species, and any special factors the Storyteller

feels is appropriate for a character. For the average human,this constant is five. A character may move her full speed inyards in a round and still take an action at no penalty, or she

may move twice that distance and forfeit any action she wishesto take. For the sake of simplicity, I will refer to the option of

moving and taking an action as Walking for the purposes ofthis experiment, and the option of moving twice as far at the

cost of ones action as Running.

Since the Scurrying Pandorans are covering long distance

in the text that first prompted this question, I first approachedthis by asking the question At what speed rating would a

character need to run a four-minute mile? One mile is onethousand, seven hundred and sixty yards (1760), four minutesis 240 seconds, or 80 rounds. 1760 yards / 80 rounds = 22 Speed.

Since the character is running, they only need half of that, orspeed 11. If we assume a human character with speed constant

5, then that characters Strength + Dexterity is a mere 6. Thismeans that any character who places his primary attribute

category as physical can easily run a four minute mile, a profes-sional to Olympic level feat of running.

Realizing such average characters could run at the Olym-pic level in long distance, I looked decided to see how they

would compete in a sprinting event. The 100 M dash is thestandard for sprinting. 100 M = 110 yds. This time I assumed

the character in question was Strength + Dexterity = 10, thushis speed would be 15, 30 while running. 110 yds / (30 yds

/round) = 3.67 rounds or 11 seconds. The current Olympicrecord is 10.8 seconds.

This seemed more realistic to me: a character with Olym-pic-level attributes preformed at an Olympic level. However,

another thing seemed odd to me: this Olympic athlete requiresno dots in the skill Athletics.

Having thought about it at the maximum, I looked at theminimum. A character with Strength 1 Dexterity 1, a characterwith little coordination and almost no muscle mass, can still

move 7 yards in three seconds and act as if he stood still (heincurs no die penalties), and, in a full sprint, can get 14 yards

in three seconds. Extrapolated over one mile, this charactercomes in at 6 minutes 17 seconds, a respectable time for begin-

ning high school runners.

Thus, I devised an experiment to evaluate the realism of

the Speed Constant in the World of Darkness.

Evaluating Speed:the Constant in theWorld of Darkness

By: N. R. Kelley


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DataDistance (D) = 20 yardsRound (R) = 3 Seconds

World of Darkness Speed Constant (SConst

) = 5 yards / round

Walk Times (TW

) for Distance (D)

Subject TW

TW2

TW3

A 13.78 13.16 12.51

B 6.54 7.16 6.98

C 9.66 8.66 8.23

D 10.12 8.91 8.73

E 12.50 12.03 11.48

F 10.91 11.29 11.66

G 10.98 10.63 10.85

H 11.63 12.10 11.94

I 11.17 11.13 11.85

J 7.41 7.41 7.73

K 10.79 11.16 10.73

L 9.69 8.97 9.00

M 13.75 13.10 13.16

N 13.13 13.91 13.68

O 11.23 11.93 11.88

All times are in seconds.

Run Times (TR) for Distance (D)

Subject TR1

TR2

TR3

A 4.18 4.10 3.98

B 3.82 3.93 3.93

D 4.73 4.91 5.04

E 3.60 3.62 3.62

H 4.55 4.26 4.35

I 3.73 3.67 3.67J 3.85 3.73 3.85

K 3.66 3.48 3.48

L 4.35 4.43 4.36

M 3.63 3.55 3.60

N 5.29 5.29 5.50

O 4.05 4.23 4.29

All times are in seconds

Experimental SetupIn the White Wolf warehouse, I measured off

twenty yards in a relatively clear aisle and labeled the

east end Start and the west end Finish. I askedeveryone in the office that day to come to the back

of the warehouse and be a test subject. Fifteen staffmembers complied.

Each subject was first given the instruction to

walk the twenty yards As if you want to perform anaction. I left this interpretation to each person, as

I wanted them to walk as fast as they could withoutstraining themselves. Using a stop watch, I timedeach of their trials and recorded the result.

Then, those members whose foot-ware, medical

status, and disposition allowed them to run returnedto the start line and sprinted as fast as they could thetwenty yards. The same stop watch was used to record

their times, and subsequently recorded them.

All walks and runs were performed from a

standing position. The subjects were not requiredto stop right on the finish line, allowing them to

run through and increase their average run times.This goes somewhat against the rules as presented,

as a character may run in one round, and take nomovement at all in the next.


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ConclusionsBased on their times, if this is the World of Darkness, the people that work for White Wolf have abysmal physical statistics.

Eight of employees have less Strength + Dexterity than the minimum one of each, while only two have even a single dot abovethe minimum allocated.

If the World of Darkness is intended to be a horror game, then things should be more difficult in game than they are inreal life. However, the data clearly indicates that people move faster in game that in reality.

To rectify this issue, I considered one of the original paradoxes that lead to the experiment: a character can move at Olym-

pic levels with no athletic training what-so-ever. I asked each member of the experiment to rate themselves with an Athleticsscore by the rules given in the World of Darkness core. I then substituted the speed constant with their Athletic score.

By substituting Athletics for the speed constant, the staff members physical attributes increased dramatically, up to the range

exhibited by normal characters at character creation.

The data suggests that the speed constant might be flawed, but not completely without purpose. As an optional rule, forthose who want to slow character movement down to more realistic levels based on natural talent (attributes) as well as training

(Athletics Skill), then substituting Athletics for the speed constant in humans would be appropriate. Caution should be taken,by using this optional rule, you will probably have to convert the speed constants given for non-human cast members such asanimals and supernatural creatures. Things based on humans, such as Werewolves, Vampires, and Pandorans to name a few,

can probably use the optional rule as presented. For things completely inhuman, such as cheetahs and horses, first determinethe creatures Athletics, then research the average and top speed of the animal. You can then use the methodology presented

here to adjust their relative speeds. For those Storytellers who lack the time, or are intimidated by the math, a quick fix ruleof thumb is to subtract 5 from the printed speed, and replace with the creatures athletics.

Modified Physical Attributes

Subject Athletics PA 2 4

B 2 6

C 0 7

D 1 5

E 2 5

F 1 4

G 1 5

H 1 5

I 2 5

J 2 6K 3 4

L 2 5

M 2 4

N 0 5

O 1 5


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ErrorThe primary source of error in this informal experi-ment is the size of the sample. Like any experiment, the

larger the sample: the more averaged your results. Thisremoves statistical anomalies, such as selection a samplepopulation that exhibits only one way of life or athletic

level. Thankfully, while my sample was small, I feel thatI had an even mix of below average, average, and above

average athleticism displayed in my sample. However, mysample was lacking both professionally skilled athletes as

well as the completely un-athletic.

Error in measurement are restricted to the minimal error

in the manufacture of the tape measurer (accurate to onesixty-forth of and inch) compounded by having to move the

measuring tape to measure the full 20 yards. Overall, I wouldestimate the distance ran to be 20 yards, plus or minus oneinch, or .14% error in measurement. This is small enough

as to be overlooked.

The time measurement had error from my reaction time

as they crossed the finish line and their reaction to beingtold to go. The subjects reaction time can be considered

a function of Wits, and thus is an unrelated attribute to therun. To remove this reaction time though, I would have

to have tested each subjects reaction time in astandardized test, then subtracted it from each

of their times. Given that each person wassacrificing work time for one experiment,and that reaction time is usually less that

one tenth of a second, I felt this to besmall enough that it didnt warrant using

more of each subjects time.


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Excerpts from Saturnine Nights

Some people cant leave well enough alone. Somehumans cant accept death, or foolishly believe theyhave the right to meddle in the affairs of the Divine.When a person takes on that mindset, he becomesa demiurge. Frankenstein did it with electricity, theground breaking science of his day, but since thatstormy night science has jumped forward through

whole shifts of paradigm, and new men have playedGod in each one. Saturnine Nights explores thesechildren of modern demiurges. Look now at the mostterrifying of these lost children in the modern age,Prometheans brought to life by the radioactive after-math of a nuclear blast.

Zeka: Children of the Bomb

They are few, fewer even than their nearest brothersand sisters. The other Prometheans were never supposedto exist. The Zeky, the children of that first, namelessZeka, are misbegotten even by Prometheanstandards, a perversion of a perversion.

Whatever version of the story is true,the bomb began the Lineage. The vehiclefor the Pyros was the explosion ofa nuclear device. Born in violenceand the moment of annihilation, thePyros burned itself into the Zeky fromthe outside in and continues to burn,cooking them from a radioactive core. Ifthe Progenitor has made others since, he may nothave used a bomb, but radiation is central.

The name of the Lineage comes from the best knownstory: the first creature was, they say, made from sewn-to-gether fragments of dead zeky, the unfortunate inmatesof a Soviet nuclear gulag, recreated into a new, namelessbeing, wiped clean of memory, no more than a zeka,become in truth what the inmates of the gulags were

in writing. The creatures demiurge intended him to bethe perfect worker. The demiurge wanted to make anideal zeka, an already institutionalized prisoner who

could work in the mines and staff the testsite without succumbing to the radiation.

The demiurge wanted a born slave whowould have no preconceptions or prejudices

against obeying orders.It didnt work out that way.

If anything, that first PrometheanZeka reflected the unpredictability and

terrible destructive power of the atomicenergy that created him. He was a

creature whose very presence filled his creatorwith unreasoning fear. His actions made no sense.

He seemed to exist outside of the context of any otherbeing. He behaved like some kind of crazed out-of-context pagan deity, a force of nature with no naturalphenomenon to connect with. He was intelligent,and reasonable, and quite mad, and when he escaped,leaving death in his wake, his creator felt more relief

Cant Leave Well Enough Alone....


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than anything, even as he died of radiation poisoningfrom being in contact with the creature.

There are too few Zeky to make any

definitive statements aboutwhat they might be like, orabout what they want. OneChild of the Bomb existedfor barely a year before plac-ing himself at ground zero ofanother nuclear test, desiringto be reduced to his componentparticles rather than continuein his existence. Another Zekaof quite low power has laired in

the mildly radioactive areaaround Sellafield for 30 yearsnow, only wishing to beleft alone.The central reality of theZekys existence is that ithurts. The Frankensteins, theZekys closest siblings, are tor-mented by the knowledgeof their separation fromhumanity. But the Zeky

feel actual physicaldiscomfort in their ex-istence. The recentlymade Zeka sometimescalled the Skin Girlsuffers from constantheadaches. Wind-scales bleeding skinis a constant sourceof pain. AnotherZeka goes through life

with a constant, dullnausea. Another feelsaches in his joints.This physical discom-fort doesnt impairthe Zekys ability toact, but it does staywith them, and it contrib-utes to the way they experience Torment. Theres no

specific method in which a Zeka makes another. Theonly thing they all have incommon is that the body or

bodies that provide the rawmaterial for a new Zeka musthave died from radiation poi-

soning. Their RussianProgenitor was madeby a scientist whohad a copy of VictorFrankensteins notes,and so made his Zekafrom irradiated penallaborers. But this Pro-

genitor made the firstof his Lineage from asingle body. The SkinGirl was murdered andremade, in part, with

metal to replace andaugment the flesh that

had atrophied and diedfrom the radiation that hadkilled her, a small lump of

plutonium replacing part of

her brain. Although the fewZeky creators have each used

a different method to buildtheir progeny, every onehas used radiation as

the means by which theyhave awakened their newcreations Azoth. The first

Zeka was born in the fireof a nuclear explosion,but there are other

sources of radiation.Windscales creatorbrought her to wak-ing by wrecking a

small reactor in a ci-vilian power station

and taking her into thefire, leaving the body hor-

ribly burnt, but imbued with Azoth. Another buried


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the body of one of the first fatalities of the Chernobylaccident under the nearby earth, and returned to thearea once every year or so for a decade, exhuming the

body to see if it had awakened yet. When the new Zekadid awaken, she lay there entombed in the irradiatedearth for six months until her creator came and dugher up, mad and mute. The Skin Girls creator, on theother hand, simply brought one of the terminals onher skull into contact with another piece of plutonium,bringing it and the plutonium in her head to criticality.The Skin Girls body absorbed the energy; the Azothgranted to her by her creator gave her life.

The Zekys numbers are increasing, as gradually theycreate more of their own. Unlike the first few, these

new Zeky havent confined themselves to the areas ofaccidents, spilled waste and bomb tests. As much asany Promethean, a newly made Zeka stays on the move,as his radioactive Azoth ravages any area he rests in.

Each Zeka supposedly has, within himself, the key toRedemption, but not one of them has so far achieved it.Even if a Zeka can reach the end of the Pilgrimage,would the deadly nature of his own body allow him toachieve Mortality? What if it turns out that Mortalityis closed to these creatures? If the Pilgrimage is a paththey cannot take, what might the alternative be?

BestowmentRe-Animator

Rumors persist that the flesh-eating radioactive zom-bies of the movies may in fact be real. The legends ofthe Nuclear Prometheans have been linked with thesestories. The very few Prometheans who have met a Zeka(and their acquaintances and their acquaintances-of-acquaintances) tell of corpses rising, shambling to thecreatures side and obeying his commands.

The stories are, in some cases, true. A Zeka with thisBestowment can give a sort of revolting half-life to thecadaver of someone killed by radiation, by a radioactiveweapon, or by a Zekas Transmutations.

Cost: 4 PyrosAction: InstantTransmutation Cost: Azoth x 7Then the Zeka uses this power, he attempts to raise

a single corpse as a zombie. The person must have

died at least partly as the result of a radioactive source,which may or may not have been one of the Zekasown powers.

The first time a character with a Humanity of 5 orhigher uses this Bestowment in a scene, the player mustmake a degeneration roll (three dice).

Roll ResultsDramatic Failure: The Zeka fails to raise the corpse.

Furthermore, if the Zeka has any other zombies thatare still active, the Pyros animating them sputters anddies. They all stop moving, and cannot be animatedagain. The Pyros spent on the corpse is wasted.Failure: Nothing happens. The corpse cannot be

reanimated. If the Promethean wants to make a zombie,

the Promethean must find another body. The Pyrosspent on the corpse is still wasted.

Success: The body rises as a slightly radioactivezombie. It obeys simple commands. The Prometheancan add any successes rolled to the zombies traits,dividing them among Power, Finesse and Resistance(see below). The zombie is not intelligent. It can followsimple commands to stay, leave, fetch, carry, attack orstop attacking, but thats it. In order to make a zombieobey a simple command, the Prometheans player mustroll Presence + Composure.

Exceptional Success: The Promethean creates ahungry, infectious zombie whose bite has the potentialto cause other humans to rise as similarly infectiouszombies. This might not necessarily be a good thing.A zombie plague can quickly get out of hand. OtherPrometheans can buy this Bestowment as a Transmu-tation, but a Promethean character must have hadsome sort of exposure to dangerous radiation beforehis player can purchase it.

Prometheans who take on this power gain a slightlyradioactive quality to their flesh. A Galateids skin

might begin to glow in the dark slightly, while a Tam-muz could find that the earth on his skin has, in places,been burnt into tiny crystals of black glass. An Osiranscorpse-like visage could become even drier. The dark-ness that leaks through an Ulgans rents becomes moretangible and covers more of her body. A Frankensteincould discover that some of his fleshy components seemto have developed sore, hard lumps and tumors.


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My name is Eddy Webb, and Ive been asked to rewritethe laws of magic.

Well, more specifically, Ive been asked to take thehighly successful Mage: The Awakening game anddevelop it for Minds Eye Theatre. At first I was reallynervous about taking this project on. Not only was thismy first manuscript for White Wolf, but it was also slatedto be the first core rulebook that will be released primarilyas an electronic book. Its a huge set of expectations tolive up to, but my excitement outweighed my reservationsas I started to dig into the world ofMage.

And damn, its such a cool world to play with.Characters in other World of Darkness games are onlypartially human undead vampires, primal werewolves,reanimated Prometheans, or what awaits changelings butmages are different. Theyre people like us, people withday jobs and family problems and mortgage payments,but they have the ability to change the world with an actof will. I think its that human element that makes TheAwakening such an intriguing live-action game.

One thing people do is spend time around those likethemselves. While we all remember stories of hermitic oldwizards sequestered in crumbling towers or ancient witchesliving in huts deep in dark woods, most of the Awakenedform cabals of peers for social comfort. But what happenswhen dozens of wizards live in the same area? As eachmage struggles with maintaining their wisdom in theirindividual quests whether its to uncover the ancientorigins of magic, the Awakening of all humanity, or justthe accumulation of more magical power she also hasto balance the needs of her cabal with the desires of herPath (her mystical predilections) and the goals of herorder (the secret society that educated her). This complexdrama unfolds within the Consilium, the local Awakenedgovernment, as the threat of magical mutually-assureddestruction looms over everything. The textured politicalstage in a game ofThe Awakening isnt quite like anyother live-action experience, and I was thrilled to havea chance to mold and savor that experience.

Of course, whats a game about mages if it doesnthave magic? I made every effort to create a flavorful ad-

aptation of the magic rules from Mage: The Awakening,while providing Storytellers with a variety of mechanicaloptions to customize their games as they choose. Troupesthat dont want to get bogged down in rules can decideto stay with the hundreds of spells provided, while thosewho want more variety can use any or all of the optionalrules to add flavor and diversity to the chronicles mysti-cal landscape. Players familiar with Mage will find somemechanical changes in The Awakening that better

reflect the realities of live-action roleplay, but much ofthe core of the magic system remains, to better allowmost of the existing Mage books to be used with littleor no conversion.

Overall, The Awakening is a little different. Its adifferent take on Mage, a different style ofMinds EyeTheatre chronicle and a different way of bringing WhiteWolf products to you. If youre in the mood for somethingdifferent, give it a try. Power may corrupt, but it can bea hell of a ride.

Minds Eye Theater: The Awakening


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Liberators of the Future

Excepts from Mage: Free Council.

Lies. They spread like a virusthroughout the world, infectingeverything and everyone theytouch. It seems harmless at first,but eventually can build up to causecatastrophic results. One exampleof this is displayed in the Exarchsand the world that humanity livesin now. Mages stand against thesebeings because they perpetuate lies

to the world. Unfortunately, mostMages are likewise infected by thelies of the Exarchs and they donteven realize it; using old and out-dated methods that didnt work inthe past. The Free Council are notthese Mages. They seek a balancebetween past and present in orderto bring a bright new Atlantis, arealistic goal and dream for all ofAwakened society and Humanity.

Creating a Glimpse ofTruth: The Wrights

While Libertines, in general, believe that humanity ismagical, the Wrights further refine this tenet. The magic ofhumanity, they believe, is inherently tied to humankindsability need, even to create. Only when a humanis creating something new (be it physical or speculative)is he truly exerting his full potential, and this creativitymay hold the key to facilitating Awakening. In generaltheory, this philosophy seems almost inherent to the

Free Council, but the Wrights take it beyond the simpleencouraging or mentoring of artists or scientists, to a levelthat few outside of the faction would agree with.

Perhaps the breaking point comes from the Wrights ex-ceedingly critical definition of the term create. While manyLibertines would have no problem with the idea of fostering apoet or theoretical technologist in their work, the Wrights believethat the Lie has blinded humanity to the extent that the vastmajority of output produced is chaff, meaningless variations onalready created themes. The Lie lulls humanity into a comfort-

able sense of creative-hibernation, andeven the most productive writer, artistor scientist is hard-pressed to producea single work of true creation in hercareer. However, the Wrights believethat a Sleeper can be stirred fromthat complacency through exposureto various extreme situations. Neces-sity is truly the mother of invention,and the Wrights believe that the

safety of a writers nook or laboratoryinherently hampers the true spark ofcreativity that can only be achieved inthe most intense situations. Whetherthey subject their victims to physicalperil or emotional tortures, the Wrightsbelieve that the ends not only justifiesthe means but are truly the only courseby which the Libertines can observe

humankind at its most magical.

Creation

True creations, according to the Wrights, are those that areproduced when humanity strips away the Lie perpetuatedupon them by Exarchs. The ability to see through the Lie,however, is a rare event. The vast majority of humans willnever gain the slightest glimpse of what Truth lies justbeyond their comprehension. Certain situations, however,seem to encourage that insight. Although humanity, inits Lie-induced stupor, may not recognize it (the Liescomplacency dampens discernment as well as creativity),those who have Awakened generally identify that themajority of the non-derivative pieces of art, literature and

poetry, as well as the truly creative scientific theories andtechnological inventions have been produced by humanityduring periods of extreme emotion or need.

Wright MakingSimilar to many Libertine factions, the Wrights rarely

think of themselves as belonging to any particular subsectionof the order, and few would call themselves Wrights. The termis believed to have been coined by Zenos in his missive to the

Northeastern Assembly titled When Truth Serves The Lie.


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In it, he detailed four theoretical Wrights whose proceduresranged from casual observation to outright kidnapping andtorture. While Zenos insisted the examples were not based

on any particular individuals, the mirror his missive held upapparently reflected certain individuals sufficiently clearlyas to make him the target of at least three assassination at-tempts in the year after the missive was penned. Because ofthe severity of Zenos allegations, the term Wright is mostoften used as a negative epitaph by those who warn againstthe dangers of allowing the ends to justify the means, andis thus identified most often with the more extreme actionstaken by holders of this philosophy.

Many Libertines, however, are willing to acceptthat challenging circumstances are likely to bring outhitherto untapped potential in humanity, even if they donot believe that these circumstances are the sole key tounderstanding humanitys link to magic. What sets thestage for a Wright to become a Wright is, many times,a growing disillusionment with humanity as a whole. Ifhumanity is magical, the mage comes to ask himself, whyis it that the vast majority of humankind never realizeseven the slightest manifestation of that magic? WhileLibertines extend the definition of magic well beyondjust those powers and abilities granted by connection tothe Supernal Realms, even the most open-minded andliberal mage might have difficulty seeing magic in the

mundane, destructive and self-centered existences thatthe vast majority of humanity slog themselves throughon a daily basis. The more jaded a Libertine becomes, theless likely he is to be able to perceive anything magicalabout humanity, until he may even question whether thisbasic tenet of the orders philosophy is more than an navemantra coined by starry-eyed idealists. Many Wrightsfind their path while contemplating abandoning the FreeCouncil for another order, one with more realistic viewsof humanitys potential or lack thereof.

But then, something happens. Most often, it is something cata-clysmic, something horrendous, something that, by all rights, should

leave its victim utterly destroyed, emotionally or physically.But it doesnt.

Somehow, some way, the victim draws upon humanitysinnate connection to the Truth, and creates an solution.Perhaps it is a stroke of insight that shows the key to adesperate situation. Perhaps the emotional torment givesforth a flurry of muse-inspired creation that, although itcannot solve the problem, translates it to others in away that is wholly unique and innovative. Or perhaps thecreation is a manifestation of heretofore untold strength,

intellect, cunning, dexterity or stamina, giving the personsome small insight and access to the true potential he pos-sesses. Humanity all too often discounts such happenings as

flukes. Deviations from the norm make people uncomfort-able, and as a group, humankind is quick to look for simpleexplanations. What it cannot explain away as a burst ofadrenaline, a momentary flash of insight or a lucky guess,they tend to ignore completely, burying the true creationunder a mountain of more comfortable pap, layered withdiscrediting rumors, half-truths and lies.

But to the mage, this creation is proof that human-ity truly is magical. In one brief flash, the jaded Wrightrealizes that this credo is not inane jargon, but inherenttruth, and just as a child who strikes match after match,heedless of the danger, the Wright becomes obsessed withthe idea of witnessing it again.

Steal Body (Death + Life )

The mage rips soul from body and possesses the targetsnow-vacant form, leaving the victim and the mages formerbody dead. The spell is a means of prolonging life and alsoof obtaining a newer, younger, fitter body. Some magesalso see it as an opportunity to experiment: obtaining abody of a different sex, race or the like in order to see howthe other half lives (and dies, for that matter).

Practice: Unmaking

Action: Extended and Contested; target rolls Resolve

reflexively.

Duration: Lasting

Aspect: Vulgar

Cost: 2 Mana

The mage can cast this spell on a given target onlyonce. If the spell fails, that target is forever immune toany further casting by that mage (although not by oth-ers). The mage obtains the subjects Strength, Dexterityand Stamina, and any physical Merits or Flaws, retainingall other traits. The subjects spirit is destroyed although,at the Storyteller s discretion, the spirit may survive as aghost (and likely a vengeful one at that).

Free Council Rote: Life-Transfer

Dice Pool: Wits + Science + Death vs. Resolve

The body is just a vehicle for the mind and spirit,

and techn allow the unseating of an existing occupantso a new life-force can inhabit a body. For the Namelessrebels, this techn held the added benefit of erasing theirformer lives: appearance, flesh and bone, and allowing themto start anew away from the pursuit of their enemies.


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Whats your favorite White Wolf game? Why?

My favorite White Wolf game is, and, since 1991has been, their Vampire line in all its incarnations.

It seized my interest from day one, and has stayed withme since.

Any interesting gaming related stories?

Oh, of course, I have dozens. However, telling storiesabout ones games is an activity much akin to relatingones dreams: if you werent there, they just dont resonatethe same way, and I risk gabbling enthusiastically aboutsomething so personal that nobody else can possiblyrelate one of the hazards of the outspoken gamer. No,Ive trained myself to refrain, and would much rather hearwhat players have to say about their games instead.

How long have you been writing for White Wolf?A little over two years, now. My first contribution was

printed in Ghouls for Vampire: T

equarterly - vol 4 spring 2007

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